"I would like to thank all at Bali Discovery Tours for providing such great service to Aurora and her passengers. The day was a real success - thanks to the detailed pre-planning from Jack and the team."
Royal Palace, Singaraja,
Bali Festival 2006 12th to 14th August.
8/7/2006) An inaugural three-day North Bali Festival
will take place in Singaraja, the former capital
of Bali, on the Island's north coast August 12-14,
2006
Schedule of Events
• Saturday, August 12, 2006. 7:00 –
9:00 a.m. "5 km Fun Run" along Lovina
Beach.
• Saturday, August 12, 2006. Starting
from 9:00 a.m. at Taman Kota, Singaraja the
opening of organized events including food stalls,
martial arts demonstrations, fashion shows and
fashion competitions including attendance by
Miss Bali Tourism 2005 and Miss Indonesia Tourism
2006 as panel members. Traditional kite flying
and painting competitions, clowns, dancers,
marching bands and crafts from all over North
Bali are among some of the special activities
planned during the full day of activities.
• Saturday, August 12, 2006. 3:00 p.m.
the quarter finals of the "Miss & Master
Beauty & Brains Contest" with the semi-final
round to take place at the Singaraja Royal Palace
later in the evening.
• Saturday & Sunday, August 12-13,
2006. Nightly performance each evening starting
at 9:00 p.m. of the Lovina Jazz & Blues
Festival at Spice Café, located on the
beach at Kaliasem.
• Sunday, August 13, 2006. Singaraja
Street Parade at 3:00 p.m. from the Raka Panji
Sakti Statue in Singaraja and ending at the
Taman Kota Festival Grounds.
• Sunday, August 13, 2006. Grande Finale
Dinner at the Singaraja Royal Palace at 7:00
p.m. Winners of "Miss & Master Beauty
& Brains Contest" to be announced;
music and cultural performances; and performance
of the rare "crow dance," an ancient
performance last witnessed in the 15th century.
• Monday, August 14, 2006. A golf tournament
at the Bali Handara Kosaido Golf Course in Bedugul.
• Monday, August 14, 2006. Special Brunch
and Spouse program with a Sportswear Fashion
show.
For more information on the North Bali Festival
visit their website.
Sanur Community Sets
Three Days of Family Fun Activities.
(8/7/2006) The Sanur Village Development Foundation
has announced a three-day long Sanur Village Festival
to take place August 25-27,2006.
Activities will be held in three main areas:
a) Along the entire length of Sanur Beach covering
the area marked by Jalan Segara Ayu to the north
and Jalan Pantai Sindhu to the south; b) the
ijumpi stage facing Sanur Beach between the
Hotel Segara Village and Segara Agung Restaurant.;
and c) in the cottage area within the Bali Beach
Hotel Complex.
While specific locations and timings for each
activity have yet to be announced, the preliminary
schedule of events follows.
Day One – Friday, August 25,
2006
• Opening Ceremony
• Ijumpi Annual Cooking Competition
• City Tour and Fun Bike Tour
• Wind Surfing, Kite Surfing, and Kayaking
Competition
• Jukung Traditional Sail Boat Festival
• Tennis Tournament
• Karaoke Competition
• Painting Exhibition
• Food Festival and Bazaar
• Festival Parade
• Traditional Balinese Dance Performance
Day Two – Saturday, August 26,
2006
• Food Festival and Bazaar
• Ujumpi Annual Cooking Competition
• Jazz Festival
•Sabur Open Golf Tournament
• Wind Surfing, Kite Surfing and Kayaking
Competition
Government Targets
2,500 Participants in Event Timed to Herald Celebration
of World Tourism Day.
(8/5/2006) Indonesia's Minister of Culture
and Tourism, Jero Wacik, has announced that
Bali will be the venue for a Bali Bike Festival
to be held on the Island September 16-17, 2006.
Organizers are targeting 2,500 bicyclists from
both Indonesia and abroad to attend the community-based
event intended to form stronger bounds between
Bali tourism industry and the local population.
Scheduled to take place just prior to the world-wide
celebration of World Tourism Day on September
27th, the Bali event has adopted as its theme:
"Bali Bike Fest 2006 - Peace Through Tourism."
Organizers are hopeful that the event will
receive widespread support and over time become
an annual calendar event.
Officials Cull Bird
Population in West Bali
Local Authorities
Move Quickly to Contain H5N1 Outbreak in Domestic
Poultry Populations in Jembrana District of Bali.
(8/5/2006) Bali's animal health officials culled
and incinerated more than 1,300 chickens in the
West Bali district of Jembrana on Wednesday, August
2, 2006, after 845 free-range domesticated chickens
tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus.
The sudden death of a large number of domestic
chickens brought a special team of disease control
officials to the affected villages who conducted
tests and destroyed birds within a three kilometer
radius of the outbreak. Officials also immediately
introduced a number of biometric precautions
which included the antiseptic spraying of all
poultry cages in five separate locations at
Jembrana.
While health officials continue to monitor
developments in Jembrana closely, no human infections
have been reported in connection with the latest
outbreak.
H5N1 outbreaks have now been recorded in 27
of Indonesia's 33 provinces.
Indian Ocean Tsunami
Alarm System Now in Operation
With Initial Tsunami
Warning System in Place, Focus Now Moves to Emergency
Preparedness of Local Communities.
(8/5/2006) International cooperation has now put
into place a working tsunami warning system covering
the countries covering the vast Indian Ocean area.
The rapid deployment of the system precipitated
by the widespread loss of life in the December
26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami which killed
more than 200,000 people has now focused attention
on the preparedness of national and local governments
to effectively raise the alarm and implement
evacuation programs when and if a tsunami is
detected.
Concerns in this regard were only heightened
when Indonesian officials were accused of failing
to warn local communities of the July 17, 2006
tsunami which struck Java's southern coast and
killed more than 600 people.
At a recent three-day meeting that assessed
the US$126 million Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning
and Mitigation System the United Nations' Joseph
Chung warned "the system is only as good
as the response."
Less than two years after the tragic "boxing
day" tsunami of 2004, some 23 sophisticated
monitoring systems are now operating in the
Indian Ocean that can instantaneously measure
and assess sub-ocean earthquakes and their potential
for generating a deadly tsunami. These warnings
are instantaneously relayed to the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center (Hawaii)and the Japanese Meteorological
Agency who broadcast warnings to countries at
risk and independently operated tsunami alarm
system [See: Personal Tsunami Alarm System].
A Growing State of Emergency Preparedness
in Bali
Over the past week coastal areas around Bali
have performed coordinated safety drills involving
the public, police, military and local community
groups honing their skills on how they would
respond to an actual tsunami disaster. In Bali
this has included evacuation drills of beachside
areas, the transportation of victims to local
medical facilities, and public order precautions
by the police and military.
Barring Last Minute
Legal Appeal, Bali Bombers will Be Shot by Firing
Squad on August 22nd
(8/7/2006) Amrozi, Iman Samudra and Ali Gufron
– the three convicted masterminds of the
October 12, 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202
people – may be taken from their cells before
dawn on the morning of Tuesday, August 22, 2006
and brought to a desolate beach on Nusa Kambangan
Island where they will be blindfolded and shot
by a police firing squad.
As required by Indonesian law, the families of
the three men were formally notified of the imminent
execution of the three men in order to allow final
communication with the condemned men.
While the three men have steadfastly refused
to exercise a final last-ditch appeal which
would further delay their execution, their lawyers
are threatening to unilaterally challenge the
legality of the retroactive application of the
new anti-terror law for a crime committed prior
to the legislation's introduction.
The execution of the three, whenever it finally
does occur, will perhaps bring some degree of
closure to the families of the bombing victims,
including the 88 Australians who died in the
blast.
While vehement in their opposition to the capital
punishment – particularly when applied
on foreign soil against Australian nationals,
the Australian Federal Government has tempered
it opposition in the current instance with Australian
Foreign Affair Minister Alexander Downer saying,
"the Bali bombers were tried and convicted
by Indonesian courts and found guilty of the
most heinous of crimes." As a result, while
Australia maintains its philosophical opposition
to the death penalty, it will not protest the
execution of the Bali bombers.
When executed, the bombers' remains will be
handed over by authorities to the men's families
for final burial. In doing so, Amrozi, Iman
Samudra and Ali Gufron will be afforded a final
dignity they so cruelly denied their victims
on October 12, 2002.
Bali's Traditional
Water Rights Must be Maintained
Educator and Former
Top Tourism Official Sees Bali's Traditional Culture
Under Threat from Diminishing Role of 'Krama Subak'
System.
(8/5/2006) The authority of the Krama Subak, or
Bali's traditional water distribution councils,
is increasingly under threat from national irrigation
legislation. The national legislation - which
prioritizes water rights in the order of the needs
of humans, animals and finally plant agriculture
is a reversal of the age-old primacy given by
the Krama Subak to agriculture.
The Krama Subak are the traditional councils
which have governed Bali's unique system of
water distribution for hundreds of years working
to create an equitable system to sustain the
Island's system of inter-connected rice terraces.
Speaking at a gathering of approximately 100
Krama Subak held in Gerokgak Village, North
Bali, on Tuesday, August 1, 2006, Professor
Dr, I Gede Pitana, the former Chief of the Bali
Tourism Authority, called on the Krama Subak
to retain their traditional authority over the
Island's water rights.
The meeting, sponsored by the Buleleng branch
of the Young Business Peoples Association (HIMPI)
and the Department of Agriculture from Udayana
University, saw Dr. Pitana point the the Krama
Subak's preeminent historical claim to the right
to distribute water rights in Bali and the United
Nations' acceptance of the primacy of traditional
rights as forming the legal basis for retaining
Bali's traditional system of water distribution.
Pitana's comments, quoted in the Indonesian
language Bali Post, cited the subak system as
a cornerstone of Balinese society that is best
positioned to help develop the Island's vision
of agricultural tourism (agrowisata).
Bali Travel Industry
Recharges its Batteries
Photographic Coverage
of the Latest Recharge Night at Kuta's B’Couple
Bar & Grill on August 3, 2006.
(8/7/2006) Hundreds of travel industry workers
gathered at the Kuta Paradiso Hotel's B'Couple
Bar & Grill on Thursday, August 3, 2006, for
a monthly "Recharge Party."
With sponsored drinks, food and entertainment
in generous supply, the "Recharge Parties"
- organized by Goestamar Ardibrata and his team
at Bali & Beyond Magazine are invariably
lively affairs marked by warm fellowship among
co-workers in Bali's travel industry.
The August venue was B'Couple Bar & Grill
a 24-hour sidewalk café in the very heart
of South Kuta’s Tuban area.
As the pictures shown on balidiscovery.com
show, the Bali travel industry does know how
to party.
Garuda Increases
Flights Capacity Between Perth and Bali.
(8/7/2006) More signs that Australian arrivals
to Bali are on a slow but steady mend came last
week in the form of an announcement from Garuda
Indonesia that they will soon add two extra flights
per week between Perth and Bali, increasing capacity
by a total of 262 seats per week.
In addition to the daily service currently
offered by Garuda, additional flights will commence
operating on Fridays and Saturdays from August
25, 2006.
The new Bali bound services will depart Perth
at 5.35 p.m., while inbound services will leave
Denpasar at 1:00 p.m. arriving in Western Australia
at 4.35 p.m..
Long-Awaited Executive Class Seats
The extra services will be operated by Boeing
737-400 aircraft offering 14 executive class
and 117 economy class seats. Added to the existing
all-economy 168 seats per day operated on B737-800
aircraft, this will bring Garuda Indonesia's
weekly capacity from Perth to Bali to 1,438
seats, an increase of 22% in overall capacity.
"Our flights to Bali are always full,"
explained Rob Moro, Western Australia Sales
Manager of Garuda Indonesia. "This overwhelming
demand is indicative of the continuing resilience
and enduring popularity of this island destination,"
he added.
Mr Moro said: "With bargains abounding
in airfare and accommodation packages, there's
probably never been a better time to enjoy the
Island of the Gods."
Dragon Begets Dragon
Betawi Cultural Performance
and Showing of 'Anak Naga Beranak Naga' –
a Documentary Tracing the Assimilation of Jakarta's
Chinese and Betawi Cultures to be Presented by
'On Stage' on Wednesday Evening, August 23, 2006.
(8/7/2006) Indonesian female director Ariani Darmawan
has recently completed the documentary "Anak
Naga Beranak Naga" (Dragon Begets Dragon)
which uses the traditional Jakarta (Betawi) musical
form of Gambang Kromong to trace the cultural
assimilation of the Capital's ethnic Chinese community.
Taking full advantage of the more open style of
expression permitted in modern Indonesia, Damawan
explores the intense overlap and cross-fertilization
of indigenous Betawi Culture with the cultural
traditions of the large ethnically Chinese community
found in Indonesia's capital.
By exploring the popular and quintessentially
Jakarta musical form of Gambang Kromong, this
promising young Indonesian filmmaker demonstrates
that modern Indonesian society is indeed a wonderfully
rich admixture of the countless ethnicities
that comprise Indonesia today. By using music
as the medium to explore deeper issues, Anak
Naga Beranak Naga demonstrates how the cross-fertilization
of Javanese, Sundanese, Deli and Chinese cultures
has resulted in a musical form that is greater
than the sum total of its component parts. By
extension, the film begs the larger question:
What constitutes modern Indonesian society and
the rich promise of the national motto –
"Unity in Diversity" (Bhinekka Tunggal
Ika).
A Celebration of Betawi Culture
In addition to a special screening in Bali
of the documentary 'Anak Naga Beranak Naga'
the evening will also include a live performance
of Kroncong Tugu melodies together with a special
performance of the Lenggag None dance performed
by an accomplished Betawi Dance Troupe.
Presented by On Stage
The single evening Bali premiere of Anak Naga
Beranak Naga and a Betawi Culture experience
are presented by On Stage - a Bali-based organization
that endeavors to celebrate the diversity of
the universal human spirit via the regular cultural
events in the form of dance, theatre, film and
art exhibitions.
Anak Naga Beranak Naga & Betawi Cultural
Performance
Anak Naga Beranak Naga - a documentary film
by Ariani Darmawan will be shown at the Nusa
Dua Beach Hotel & Spa's Budaya Stage in
conjunction with a special Betawi cultural performance
at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 23, 2006.
Suggested Admission donation is Rp. 110,000
(approximately US$12.00).
Four Seasons Resort
at Jimbaran Offers Unique Cooking Course Modules
for Domestic Helpers.
(8/5/2006) Long acknowledged for having one of
Bali's most lavish and well-equipped teaching
kitchens, the Four Seasons Resort at Jimbaran
Bay is creating a unique educational opportunity
for local domestic helpers to further develop
their cooking skills in their fabulous cooking
classroom under the direction of the Four Season's
Chef I Wayan Ariana.
Available in four modules of 5 hours each,
participants will have a hands on experience
working with the latest kitchen equipment while
acquiring practical cooking tips from one of
Bali’s most senior chefs.
The Four Modules on Offer are:
• Saturday, August 19, 2006 – Breakfast
Module
• Saturday, September 2, 2006 –
Dinner Module
• Saturday, September 16, 2006 –
Pies and Cakes Modules
• Saturday, September 30, 2006 –
Sunday Roast Module
Each course will run from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00
p.m. and costs US$30 plus 21% tax and service
per participant.
Indonesia's 'Spice'
magazine Scouts Out 5 of Bali’s Lesser Known
Beaches.
8/5/2006) The Indonesian-language monthly magazine
Spice, part of the MRA publishing group, listed
what it considers to be Bali's best 5 "off
the beaten track" beaches in its June 2006
edition. Bypassing Bali's more well known beach
side resorts at Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua –
the popular style and fashion monthly presented
its list of five beaches on Bali often otherwise
overlooked by visiting sun worshipers.
The five beaches making it to the Spice
list are:
• Dreamland Beach - Westward facing and
recommended for its sunsets, Dreamland is surrounded
by the limestone cliffs of the Island's Ungasan
peninsula. While visiting this special white-sand
beach, be sure to include a visit to Bali's
nearby Ulawatu temple.
• Geger Beach - The thousands of people
who stay in the luxurious hotels within the
Nusa Dua Complex and Tanjung Benoa are largely
unaware of the large white sand beach just minutes
away on Bali's southernmost beach. Geger is
accessed via a dirt track to the left on the
road leading to The Balè and the Nikko
Bali Resort. Look for the “Geger Beach”
sign.
• Padang-padang - One of Bali's popular
surfing beaches, Padang-padang is a slight detour
on the road to Uluwatu temple whose entrance
is marked by a large bridge. Park near the bridge
and walk the short distance to the beach. A
great place to surf or sit and admire the daring-do
of locals and foreign surfers.
• Blue Ocean Sunset - Also known as Double
Six Beach because of the famous beach-side night
spot located on this beach, this beach offers
swimming, surf and a wonderful selection of
trendy restaurants and bars to while away the
sunny days and tropical nights. Take the road
to "Double Six" and park in the lot
just opposite the wide, sandy beach.
• Padang Bai - A number of picturesque
and surprisingly private beaches are located
in the areas adjacent to the busy ferry terminal
connecting Bali to Lombok. Blue lagoons, inexpensive
beachside eateries, and local jukung boats to
take you on snorkeling forays are just some
of the many charms of this collection of beaches
just a 1.5 hour drive from Kuta.
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